Siege of Syracuse (877–878) 877
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 877 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Muslim conquest of Sicily | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 37.0692, 15.2875 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Syracuse from 877 to 878 led to the fall of the city of Syracuse, the Byzantine capital of Sicily, to the Aghlabids. The siege lasted from August 877 to 21 May 878 when the city, effectively left without assistance by the central Byzantine government, was taken by the Aghlabid forces.
Following their first landing in Sicily in the late 820s, the Aghlabids had tried several times, without success, to capture Syracuse; they were, however, able to gradually take over the western half of the island. In 875, a new and energetic governor, Ja'far ibn Muhammad, was appointed, determined to capture the city. Ja'far began the siege in August 877 but soon left it in charge of his son Abu Ishaq, while he retired to Palermo.
The Arabs were well-supplied with siege weapons, while the inhabitants of Syracuse were left largely unsupported by the Byzantine fleet, which was busy with transporting marble for a new church in Constantinople and was then delayed by adverse weather. Consequently, the besieged populace faced great hardships and famine as described in detail by the eyewitness account of Theodosios the Monk. Finally, the Aghlabids managed to effect a breach in the seaward walls and on 21 May 878 managed to break through it into the city.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Syracuse (877–878) (revision 1370745578), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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Other battles of the Muslim conquest of Sicily
- Siege of Syracuse (827–828) 827
- Siege of Cefalù (837–838) 837
- Siege of Messina (842–843) 842
- Siege of Melite (870) 870
- Battle of Caltavuturo 881
- Siege of Taormina (962) 962
- Siege of Rometta 963
All 8 battles of the Muslim conquest of Sicily →
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